1. Field of the Invention
An educational toy and method of conveying vehicle safety procedures is presented. More specifically, vehicles are disclosed with operational safety belt restraining devices, removable human shaped toy passenger figures or crash dummies, means for instructing seat belt safety, and associated safety articles.
2. Description of the Background Art
Visual and physical aids help impart subject matter to individuals seeking to learn a particular topic. The key is to find a suitable combination of instructional elements that benefits the user with regard to the concept being studied. Various aspects of vehicle safety have been conveyed to children by differing methods and devices over the years. None of the prior attempts to transmit vehicle safety to children uses a vehicle having a working seat belt and a crash figure or dummy in directed, realistic demonstrations of the need for a passenger to be secured by a seat belt.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,557,471 relates an anthropodynamic dummy. The dummy is life sized for use in studies that require human body mass and shape.
Disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,488,375 is a typical toy vehicle. This particular toy vehicle has a body pivotably attached to the frame. Shown in this patent is a driving dummy wearing a nonfunctional seat belt. No mention is made of the significance of the dummy or the seat belt.
A child's ride-on toy vehicle is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 4,562,893. Safety features built into the design include front and rear roll bars.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,355 teaches a toy vehicle having a waist encircling seat belt (not a shoulder harness type seat belt) constructed of two rigid semicircles with each directly incorporated into the drive mechanism of the vehicle. The seat belt must be in the closed position for the vehicle to move under its own force.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,985 discloses a simulator device for demonstrating the benefits of wearing a seat belt. An egg is fitted within a propulsion device and projected against a fixed barrier.
A method and apparatus for teaching school bus safety to children is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,026. Comprising the system is a movable school bus, a child figure, a movable car, and a flat sheet having various zones of danger displayed upon its exposed viewing surface.
A safety awareness kit, including toy figures and storage case, is related in U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,607. The toy figure, say a cat or squirrel, has a flattened portion that shows the result of improperly encountering a vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,542 reports a toy automobile with attachments. Included in the attachments are the various items that would be fitted to a truck type vehicle, including: a window; a roof; multiple headlights; an antenna; and similar articles.
German Patent No. 3,409,841 discloses an instructional model for teaching children the operation of traffic lights. The described device resembles a traffic light.
Likewise, in German Patent No. 2,159,088, road safety procedures are conveyed to children.